HOUSTON — The red carpet beamed in front of a team background emblazoned with Houston’s “One Mission” motto, as the players strutted through sporting high fashion, smiling and swaying to the beats of the tunes spun by a DJ stationed nearby.
The flashbulbs popped. The beats thumped down the hall, steps from where the Milwaukee Bucks dressed prior to downing the Rockets, 117-111.
“It’s sad to say, but we’re not gonna win 82 games this year,” said Houston coach Mike D’Antoni. “We’ve got a chance to win 81.”
The truth is all the Rockets’ pre-game glitz gave way to Milwaukee’s grit, partly because of an inconsistent performance from Houston’s new star duo of James Harden and Russell Westbrook that led to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks leaving victorious in an opener featuring the MVPs of the last three seasons. Despite the setback, the Rockets viewed the few glimpses of greatness flashed by Harden and Westbrook as signs of what’s to come.
